A Gift For Jayden
by TheScarletRanger
Summary: It's the Christmas season and Lauren can't help but notice how bummed out Jayden has been lately
1. Chapter 1

**A Gift for Jayden**

It's the Christmas season and Lauren can't help but notice how bummed out Jayden has been lately.

I own nothing

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**Chapter 1: Jayden has a Problem**

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It has been months since the defeat of Master Xandred, the samurai rangers had all gone their separate ways. Lauren stayed with Jayden & Ji in hopes of reconnecting with her little brother. It was hard when she first arrived, what with Jayden leaving and everything but soon enough they had begun bonding. Then the final battle had begun which also began the unknown countdown before the team disbanded.

All of the other samurai rangers had made plans the last few days before finally leaving. Kevin was going back to swimming, Mia was going to culinary school, Antonio was going on a fishing expedition, Mike was going home to give community college a try, then there was Emily. Emily didn't really have any plans of leaving, she loved being there so much she wanted to stay. It was only a week later that she received a phone call from her mother saying her sister had gotten worse and Emily had to go home just on the off chance it'd be the last time she'd see her sister.

"Jayden, Ji just got back with a tree," Lauren said knocking on Jayden's bedroom door. "Want to help decorate it with me?"

Jayden opened the door and stood before his sister. "Lauren, I don't really feel like decorating the tree."

"Oh come on Jayden, you can't keep hiding in your room all day. This is our first Christmas together since we were children. Please?"

Jayden let out a heavy sigh. "Okay, fine." He stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him. They headed to the front room and opened the boxes of ornaments.

"These are so beautiful." Lauren commented when she opened the first box. "This tree is going to be gorgeous."

"I guess," He said in monotone.

"Jayden, can't you at least _try _to be in the spirit? Is something bothering you?"

"No, I'm fine." He lied. "Let's just get this over with. Where's Ji?" He asked getting the stringed lights out of a box.

Lauren took some tinsel from another box. "He's working on dinner."

Jayden climbed on a chair to begin stringing the lights from the top of the tree. "Dinner? It's only three in the afternoon."

"He got a ham, takes about three hours to cook."

"Oh,"

"He said we should go to the mall when we finish decorating the tree."

"Why?"

Lauren looked at Jayden surprised. "What do you mean why? We need to get presents for each other."

"Do we have to do that today?" Jayden whined.

"No, but I have a feeling you'll be like this if not worse tomorrow."

Jayden gave her a look. "What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean. You've been in this mood for months."

"No I haven't." He argued.

"Yes you have, and I order to come out of it or you're getting coal for Christmas."

"I don't care what you give me. I'm just not into it this year."

"You're not into anything."

"I'm decorating the tree with you aren't I?" Jayden said defensively.

"Yeah, but you didn't want to. I had to guilt you into it."

"And it worked, take it as a win."

"Well then come with me to the mall when we're finished. We only have a few days until Christmas."

"Fine, but when we get back I just want to sit in my room."

"Fine," Jayden nodded and continued to decorate the tree. Lauren wasn't sure what Jayden's problem is but she was determined to find out.

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**So far I've got five chapters written and sorry in advance but they're all pretty short chapters, please review :)**


	2. At the Mall

**Chapter 2: At the Mall**

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Even at the mall Jayden looked irritated. Lauren couldn't figure out what was upsetting him so much. "Since we have to get gifts for each other, I suggest we split up."

"Fine,"

"You _are _going to shop aren't you? I don't want to find you in an hour sitting on a bench moping or getting a call from Ji that you went home without me."

"I promise I'll shop for your present."

"Thank you, and smile, the frowny face doesn't suit you." Jayden rolled his eyes and walked off on his own. "What am I going to do with him?" Lauren sighed to herself. She went off in hopes of finding the right gift to cheer up Jayden.

Jayden had a bit of trouble trying to find a gift for Lauren. It was then that he realized he didn't know a lot about his sister. She never did anything besides training when they were fighting Master Xandred. "Maybe something to help her relax?" He asked himself.

Lauren wasn't having an easy time shopping for Jayden either. He was always withdrawn and hiding in his room most of the day. "I've got to find something that'll help him have fun." She said to herself heading into the sports store.

Jayden had finished his shopping, he found something he figured would help Lauren relax & went to have it wrapped up so he knew she wouldn't try to peak at it. "This is such a great gift idea," The girl that was wrapping his gift said. "Your girlfriend is going to love it."

"It's for my sister actually," Jayden corrected.

"Oh, my mistake. I figured a guy as cute as you would have a gift for his girl. And she'd be the luckiest girl in the world to have someone like you." She winked.

"Well at the moment my sister is the only girl in my life."

"All finished, that'll be $3.30," She said putting the finishing touches on the gift. Jayden gave her a five dollar bill. "If you ever want another girl in my life, give me a call," She winked and placed a piece of paper with a phone number under the ribbon of the gift.

"Um…you can keep the change, thanks." He grabbed his gift and went looking for his sister. He saw her in the line to see the mall Santa. "What is she doing?" He walked over and stood just outside the little fence as Lauren went to sit with the jolly figure. "Lauren, what are you doing?" Jayden asked.

"I'm just telling Santa what I want for Christmas." She leaned in to whisper something into his ear. "I want a miracle to help my little brother be happy again."

The mall Santa looked at Jayden and smiled at Lauren. "I think I can make it happen."

"Smile," The Mrs. Claus said. They both smiled and she took their picture.

"Thank you Santa," Lauren said hugging him. She took the picture and went to Jayden.

"Was this really necessary? You know he's not the real one don't you?"

"Well duh Jayden, but I never had a chance to talk to Santa. Better late than never."

"I'm done shopping."

"Me too, I'm going to come back tomorrow to pick up your gift. I'm having something special done to it."

"So if there's nothing else to do we should get going."

"Yeah," Lauren agreed. "So did you have any fun?" Lauren asked as they went to the car.

"There's not much fun in trying to find a gift when everyone else trying to find a gift is pushing and shoving. I didn't see much Christmas spirit."

Lauren unlocked the doors and went into the driver's seat. "You don't exactly have it either Jayden,"

Jayden sat in the passenger seat and put on his seatbelt. "I'm not being greedy though, I saw two women fighting over a pair of shoes. Then there was the girl at the gift wrapping station."

"What did she do?" Lauren asked starting the car and heading out of the parking lot.

"She was flirting with me and she gave me her phone number." Jayden grabbed the phone number from the ribbon.

"You say that like it's a bad thing. What's wrong with a girl flirting with you? Maybe a girl will get you out of this mood."

"Trust me, a random girl won't do anything other than irritate me." He tore up the paper with the phone number. "Besides, I'm not into brunettes."

"Jayden, you have no idea how worried I am about you. Something is bothering you and I want to help."

"You can't help me Lauren so please stop worrying about me."

"I can't help it, I know we're not children anymore but I'm still your big sister."

"I'm well aware of this Lauren, what's your point?"

"The point is that I want to do what I can to help you the same way I know you'll do what you can to help me if I needed it."

"I appreciate it Lauren, but I don't your help." Lauren sighed and they continued home in silence.

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**Reviews are always welcome, thank you lots**


	3. I Don't Know Him

**Thanks for the reviews everyone, they keep me going**

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**Chapter 3: I Don't Know Him**

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True to his word, Jayden went to his room upon returning to the house, after placing his gift to Lauren under the tree of course. All he wanted to do was sit in his room, he didn't understand what Lauren and Ji didn't understand about that.

"So how did it go at the mall?" Ji asked. "Did you get your shopping done?"

"Yeah, Jayden already had his wrapped."

Ji looked at the tree. "Then why is there only one gift?"

"I got him a snowboard, I'm having it customized and I'm picking it up tomorrow afternoon."

"Think you can sneak it in here without him seeing it?"

"He hardly leaves his room, it won't be that hard."

"I'm sure he'll love it. It snowed last year so I'm sure it'll snow again this year." He looked at the tree again. "You two did a great job decorating the tree."

"Ji, you've known him a lot longer than I have, has he ever been this withdrawn? I mean, how was he when he got the news about our dad?"

"He was devastated." Ji sighed. "But he's never acted this way and I don't think it's a typical teenage rebellion thing considering he almost never leaves his room. A rebelling teenager would never be home and break laws in the town."

"So then this is a cry for help?"

"It's a possibility."

"But he says he doesn't need help."

"Typically that's when someone needs it the most."

"I don't know how I can help him." Lauren sighed and plopped on the couch. "It wasn't until earlier today that I realized that I've been here six months and I don't even know my own brother."

"He hasn't really given you a chance to get to know him," Ji pointed out.

"I should've found a chance, especially today. I got him to leave his room for more than a few minutes and he refused to talk to me about anything. He's hiding something and he doesn't have to tell me what it is but it's hurting him, he can't keep it bottled up."

"Nobody knows about secrets more than Jayden, if he has a secret he has a reason."

"I don't care about his secrets or his reasons, I just want to spend time with him. I had to guilt him into decorating the tree with me and he wasn't too happy about going to the mall. Then he had the nerve to say other people didn't have the Christmas spirit."

"So I take it he hated the shopping trip?"

"I don't know about hate, but he could've had a better time, at least by what he told me. He didn't seem happy about the girl wrapping his gift giving him his phone number."

"Maybe he's uncomfortable about dating."

"He's eighteen, he shouldn't be uncomfortable about dating."

"He was always too busy with training to go out and have a social life. Believe me, it took weeks before he let himself have fun with the others. All he had growing up was me."

"So you're saying he's socially awkward?" Ji nodded. "It's sad that that's all I actually know about Jayden."

"Do you think he knows much about you?" Ji asked.

"No, we haven't spent much time together in a long time. We're practically strangers."

"I would say to give it time but it's been months."

"Exactly, if we don't get the chance now then I don't think we ever will."

"I'm sorry Lauren,"

"Me too, I think after the new year I should just leave. At least that way there'd be a reason not to see each other." Lauren got up and went to her room to wait until dinner.

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**I finished writing the rest of the chapters and I have enough to post a new chapter every day until Christmas**


	4. Crossing A Line

**Special thanks to everyone for the reviews and thanks to those who don't for taking the time to read my story**

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**Chapter 4: Crossing a Line**

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It had been days and Jayden was getting moodier. Lauren and Ji just couldn't figure out why. Jayden had sunk into a deeper state of depression. "He's getting worse Ji, there's got to be something we can do to help him."

"I'm afraid I'm at a loss at what to do Lauren, the only thing I can think of is having him talk to a therapist."

"You know as well as I do that he won't tell a stranger what's bothering him, he can't even talk to us about his troubles." Lauren looked down the hall and saw Jayden heading into the bathroom with a change of clothes. "He's going to take a shower, that gives me about ten minutes."

"Ten minutes for what?"

"I'm going to see if I can find anything in his room that gives me a hint about what's bothering him."

"You better hope he doesn't catch you snooping around in there."

"I'll be quick." Lauren waited until she heard the shower running before going into Jayden's room. It was all spick and span, he would easily notice if anything was out of place. "Does he spend all his time in here cleaning?" Lauren asked herself. She saw a small red notebook peeking out from under Jayden's pillow. She lifted the pillow and saw the book. "He keeps a journal?" She picked it up and sighed. "I'm going to hate myself for this," She opened the journal and turned to the last page.

"_Lauren made me help her decorate the Christmas tree and go to the mall. She and Ji don't understand the concept that I want to be alone. For years all I had was Ji so yeah, I was pretty lonely, but now I have him and Lauren and I'm lonelier than ever._

_It's been months since I've seen her, since I've heard her voice, since I felt alive. I need to see her, even if it's just for a moment. I need to tell her in person what exactly she means to me."_

Lauren closed the journal and put it back under Jayden's pillow. "Who is he writing about?" She was about to leave when she heard the laptop beep. She looked at the screen and saw Jayden had gotten a new e-mail. Then she noticed his inbox was full of e-mails from the same person.

"What are you doing in my room?"

Lauren jumped with a gasp and turned around. "Jayden!"

"What are you doing in my room?" He asked again.

"I was going to go to the grocery store for some more eggnog and wanted to ask you if you wanted to come with me."

"Why do you bother lying? You know I can always tell when you lie. You were snooping weren't you?"

Lauren shook her head. "No!" She answered quickly. "Why would I do that?"

"Because you and Ji keep thinking I have a problem and you thought you'd take advantage of the short time I'm not in here."

Lauren could see Jayden getting madder by the second. "Jayden I'm sorry."

"Get out," He said giving her a hard look.

"Jayden-"

"I don't want to hear it!" He yelled. "You went too far Lauren. Get out before I do something I'll regret."

Lauren left the room and Jayden slammed the door behind her. She sighed heavily and leaned against the wall. "What did I just do?" She went into the kitchen and sat at the table.

"I heard yelling," Ji said. "I take it he caught you?"

"He did, and he was very angry about it. I don't know how I'm going to make it up to him."

"Did you at least find out anything?"

"He keeps a journal. I read a page from the other day and he wrote that even with the both of us here he's never felt so lonely. He misses someone. He said it's been months since he's seen her and since he felt alive."

"Who?"

"I wasn't sure, but then he got an e-mail. His inbox is filled with e-mails from only one person."

"Who?"

"Emily. Is there something I should know about them?"

"If anything was going on between them I knew nothing about it."

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**You know what to do**


	5. Can You Forgive?

**Chapter 5: Can You Forgive?**

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Lauren took a deep breath and knocked on Jayden's door. "Jayden, can I come in?" She asked not really expecting a reply.

To Lauren's surprise, Jayden opened the door but he didn't let her in. He closed the door behind himself and crossed his arms. "What do you want?"

"I just wanted to tell you that I'm really, really sorry for invading your privacy. I shouldn't have done it and as mad as you are at me believe me, I'm way madder at myself. I just hate that you're mad at me and I don't want you to hate me."

"I don't hate you Lauren. I just don't understand why you guys are so worried about me. I'm fine, there's nothing wrong with me."

"Why should I believe you?"

"Because I'm saying it, and again stop worrying about me."

"I'm your sister and Ji is practically a father to you, of course we're going to worry." Jayden rolled his eyes. "Jayden, Ji is considering sending you to a therapist."

"A therapist? Lauren I'm not crazy."

"How are we supposed to know?" Lauren asked. "You don't talk to us anymore."

"I like my privacy."

"Obviously."

Jayden studied Lauren. "What exactly did you find in my room?"

"Nothing,"

"Yes you did, otherwise you wouldn't feel this guilty about it."

"I saw a new e-mail notification, I didn't read it but I saw who it was from and who sent all the other ones in your inbox."

"You didn't read any of them did you?"

Lauren shook her head. "No, I swear."

"Good."

"How long have you been e-mailing her?"

"Lauren, please change the subject."

"Sorry, Ji went to bed and I made some cocoa. Will you come out of your room and make at least _one _Christmas memory with me and watch a movie?"

"Lauren-"

"Please Jayden." Lauren interrupted. "We don't have much time left together."

Jayden raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, since you don't want to spend any time with me or talk to me I've decided to leave after the new year."

"Leave? Lauren you're my sister."

"Am I? You don't act like I am. Jayden, we're practically strangers. This is among one of the longest conversations we've had in weeks."

Jayden didn't say anything for a moment. "So what movie do you have in mind?"

"I bought a few to pick from, I think _How the Grinch Stole Christmas _seems fitting for you since he likes to be alone all the time."

"I'm no Grinch, I don't wear green."

"Fooled me, now come on." She grabbed Jayden's arm and pulled him towards the kitchen to get the cocoa. "So, can you forgive me for invading your privacy?"

"That depends, are you going to do it again?"

"No, I promise. I shouldn't have done it in the first place. I guess I was just desperate to find out what was bothering you."

"Then I forgive you and in time I'm sure I'll forget all about it. It's not like you even found anything that private anyway."

"Right," Lauren couldn't look him in the eyes after she said that. She couldn't let him know she read a page from his journal or he'd never forgive her.

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**The next chapter is another sibling moment kind of chapter**


	6. Don't Give Up On Me

**Chapter 6: Don't Give Up On Me**

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Lauren was in the kitchen cleaning up after breakfast when Jayden walked in holding a red bag. "Hey, did you go shopping?"

"Yeah, and this time I got a bag to avoid having to see that gift wrapping girl."

"We didn't notice you were gone and I didn't hear the car."

"I figured you guys wouldn't notice and I walked, I needed the fresh air to clear my head." He set the bag on the table in front of Lauren. "Here,"

"What's this?"

"It's for you, consider it a thank you and an I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"Sorry I've been difficult the past few months and thank you for trying to help me even though I said I didn't want it. Open it, it's not a Christmas gift, it's a sister gift."

Lauren opened the bag and pulled out a teddy bear with a red ribbon tied around its neck. "It's cute. Does this mean you're better?"

Jayden shook his head. "I'm still in this…funk and I honestly don't know when I'll come out of it."

"Oh…" Lauren said with a sad look.

"Let me give you some perspective." They sat at the table across from each other. "It's like I fell down a very deep well and with each passing day I slowly fall deeper into it."

"Is that really how you feel?"

Jayden nodded. "I know I need to leave my room more and I'm going to try. The last few days you tried to get me into the spirit and even though I wasn't excited about it, it helped me climb a little bit up the well."

Lauren smiled slightly. "Glad I could help."

"You did help, and I don't want you to leave. If you leave I'll slip and fall deeper."

"I don't want to leave, but I thought if you weren't going to get out of the depressed mood then I might as well leave."

"I don't know how long it's going to be before I start feeling better and I'm sorry to say this but I don't want help, I need to do this on my own. All I'm asking you is to not give up on me."

"Jayden, I couldn't give up you."

"You sounded like you did when you said you were going to leave."

"I'm sorry, but I told you why I was planning on leaving. You don't spend time with me or with Ji and even though you're living under the same roof, we miss you."

Jayden nodded. "I know, it's just…" Jayden trailed off.

"It's just what?"

"I don't know. The last few months I just feel…gone."

"What do you mean you feel gone? You just went on about how you feel like you fell down a well."

"I don't always feel like I'm all here. I'm missing something." Jayden let out a heavy sigh. "I slip deeper into the well because the thing I know will help me the most is missing. When it left me…I fell apart."

"And into the well?"

"Yeah, I know it's a bad way to explain everything but I can't find the right words."

"I'm going to go put the bear in my room."

"Okay,"

Lauren went to put the bear in her room and then got an idea. "Where's that list of numbers they left?" She went looking through the house and found what she was looking for. "First on the list is Antonio." Lauren grabbed the phone and dialed.

Lauren called the other rangers in hopes they'd visit to help Jayden. Antonio's expedition was for a year so he couldn't make it. Mia only had a week off from the cooking academy for Christmas break and it would be a two day bus travel, she wanted to spend as much time with her family since she couldn't the year before. Kevin's swim team was away so he couldn't visit and Mike's family was having a reunion four states away. The last number on the list was Emily's, she wasn't home. Her father said she was out shopping for her boyfriend.

Lauren knew Emily was the one that Jayden was very likely the one he was talking about in his journal and if he knew she was seeing someone it would put him in a worse mood.

"What do I do now?" She asked herself.

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**Isn't great that Jayden finally opened up a little?**


	7. Christmas Day

**I love how passionate you guys get in the reviews, hope you like this chapter too**

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**Chapter 7: Christmas Day**

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Christmas day came and while Lauren and Jayden went to open their gifts, Ji was in the kitchen making pancakes for everyone. Obviously there weren't as much gifts as the year before but this year they only needed gifts for each other instead of getting gifts for the whole team.

"You go first Jayden," Lauren said handing Jayden his present.

"Okay," He tore open the giant gift. He opened the box when the paper ripped and pulled out snowboard. "Wow…" It was red with the samurai logo on one end and the fire symbol on the other. "Lauren this is amazing."

"I thought it'd help you have some fun. We've had a lot of snow the last few weeks and there are lots of hills around."

"I love it, thanks. But now I feel like your gift could've been better." Lauren opened her present and it was a spa gift basket. "I thought you were still uptight and got something to help you relax and loosen up."

"It's great, I heard these things help relieve stress."

"I'm pretty sure I'm the cause of some of your stress. I'm sorry."

Lauren went next to Jayden and hugged him. "Merry Christmas little brother."

"Merry Christmas, but do you have to keep calling me little brother? We're not kids anymore and I'm taller than you."

Lauren pulled away and playfully hit him in the arm. "Don't rub it in,"

"You two okay in here?" Ji asked walking in.

"Yeah, we're okay." Lauren answered.

"We exchanged gifts."

Ji looked at the gift on the floor with the torn wrapping paper. "So I see."

"We didn't forget you though," Jayden went to the back of the tree and pulled out a hidden present.

"We hope you like it."

Jayden gave Ji the present and he opened it. He pulled out a black leather jacket. "We noticed your leather jacket had a big rip in it so we got you a new one."

"It's wonderful, thank you both. Come have some breakfast." Ji set the gift next to the other two and they headed into the kitchen as the doorbell rang. "Could one of you get that?"

"I got it Ji," Jayden said. "It's probably just carolers." He went to open the door and he was speechless when he saw who was there. "E-Emily?" He stuttered.

"Jayden!" Emily dropped her bags and wrapped her arms around the shocked boy. "I've missed you,"

Jayden hugged her back. "I've missed you too." Jayden let her go and let her into the house. "What are you doing here?"

"My sister's cancer went into remission."

"It did?"

"Yeah, doctors said it was a miracle considering how bad it was. I spent the last three days packing and got on a bus late last night. I only arrived in town this morning."

"I thought you would've wanted to spend Christmas with your family,"

"We celebrated last night."

"How long are you staying?"

"I was hoping to stay indefinitely like I originally planned."

Jayden had a goofy smile plastered on his face. "I can live with that." He couldn't stop himself from leaning in and kissing her on the lips.

"I was wondering when you would do that." Emily said when they pulled apart.

"I always regretted not kissing you before you left."

"I'm not leaving again." This time Emily leaned in and kissed him.

"Jayden who was at the door?" Lauren walked in the room and the two pulled apart. "Emily? What are you going here?"

"My sister got better so I came back."

"It's great to see you." Lauren walked over and hugged Emily. "Come have some breakfast with us, Ji made pancakes."

"That sounds good. I'll just put my bags in my old room first."

"I'll help," Jayden offered picking up the bigger bag of the two. "So why didn't you tell me you were coming back?" Jayden asked when they reached the room.

"I wanted to surprise you."

"It was a good surprise,"

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**You really think I wouldn't twist this brother/sister story into a jemily story?**


	8. More Gifts

**Sorry to say this is a short chapter**

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**Chapter 8: More Gifts.**

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After breakfast Jayden went to his room. He opened the top dresser drawer and pulled out a yellow box. He went to Emily's room, she was there putting her things away. "Emily?"

Emily turned around and smiled. "What is it Jayden?"

"How's the unpacking?"

"I'm almost done actually."

"Good,"

"Is that all you wanted?"

"I actually wanted to give you something," He handed her the box. "I wanted to give it to you before you left but I guess I was too nervous."

Emily opened the box and inside was a silver chain with a gold-yellow charm of the earth symbol. "It's beautiful."

"You really like it?"

"I love it, help me put it on?" She asked.

Jayden took the necklace out of the box and put it around Emily's neck. "Merry Christmas Emily."

"Thank you Jayden, I got something for you too." She set the box down and reached into her bag. "It's not fancy or anything but I think you'll have fun with it." She handed Jayden his gift.

He ripped off the wrapping paper revealing a gingerbread house kit. "A gingerbread house?"

"I thought you'd like making one like we did last year. Make it out own little tradition or something."

"I love that idea. How about we go get started on this?"

"Let's go then, but you know we can't have gingerbread without cocoa."

"Obviously, come on." They headed to the kitchen and opened the box. "The box says it's pre-baked, so after we decorate it we just put it in the oven for ten minutes."

"You get everything out of the box, I'll get started on the cocoa."

Jayden unpacked the box while Emily got started on the drinks. "Hey Em, what made you decide to come back here? Your sister is better, why didn't you stay home with your family?"

Emily knew he'd ask her that at some point. "I love my family to bits, but I hated being away from you. I kept a diary of all the memories I made with you and everything I missed about you." Emily blushed.

Jayden smiled slightly. "You did?"

Emily nodded. "Every time I reread it I relived the memories and it was like you were right next to me." She blushed even more having shared something so personal.

"I know what you mean. There's a lot of things I wanted to tell you but didn't want to say them in an e-mail."

"Me too,"

"I'm glad you came back."

"So am I,"

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**Only one chapter left**


	9. Moments

**The grand finale, enjoy. Did anyone else have an error page pop up when trying to login or access their account page? It kept me from posting this last chapter all day**

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**Chapter 9: Moments**

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Jayden and Emily finished their gingerbread house and put it in the oven as the instructions said to. "This is going to be so good," Emily said.

"I think it looks better than the one we did last year."

"We should invite Ji and Lauren to have some when it's finished."

"Ji is out riding his motorcycle, he wanted to try out his new jacket."

"We'll just save him some then. How about you go find Lauren while I make more cocoa?"

"Sure," Jayden went looking for Lauren and found her in her room putting away all the spa products Jayden got her. "Hey Lauren,"

"Hey Jayden,"

"Emily and I made a gingerbread house, we're going to watch Christmas movies while we eat it. Would you like to join us?"

Lauren smiled. "Sounds like fun."

"It's almost ready so we still have a few minutes."

"I still can't believe Emily showed up. I tried calling everyone to see if they'd come visit in hopes of cheering you up."

"You did?" Jayden asked with a slight smile.

"Yeah, but they couldn't make it. When I called Emily's house her dad said she was out shopping for her boyfriend. Then I saw you guys kissing, I figured out she meant you. Not even Ji knew you were boyfriend and girlfriend."

"Actually, we never really discussed it, we only had one date."

Lauren looked at Jayden in shock. "You did? When was that?"

"The night the others left, we went to a midnight movie while you and Ji were sleeping. I was surprised she said yes when I asked her on the date. I always thought she and Mike liked each other so I didn't make a move then. She assured me they were just friends."

Upon hearing the new information, Lauren came to a realization. "She's what you were missing isn't she?"

"She is," Jayden admitted. "Don't get me wrong I miss the others too but Emily was always special to me. Everything she thought was a flaw I just thought were cute." Jayden said with a big smile.

"It's nice to see you smiling again."

"It feels good."

"Do you want to know what I said to the mall Santa?" Jayden nodded. "I asked him for a miracle to help you be happy again."

"Emily said the doctors considered Serena's recovery a miracle."

"Whatever caused the miracle, I'm beyond thankful for it because it worked out for everybody."

"It sure did, let's go check on that house." They went to the kitchen where Emily was watching the timer. "Is it almost ready?"

"A few more minutes. But the cocoa is finished." Emily said. "Lauren, how about you take it and start the movie."

"Which one are you going to watch?"

"We were going to watch _The Santa Claus _trilogy."

"They're Emily's favorite Christmas movies."

"I haven't seen those movies in a long time." Lauren took the cocoa and went to the living room.

"You know Lauren told me something interesting." Jayden said wrapping an arm around Emily's waist.

"What did she tell you?"

"She called the whole team in hopes of them coming to visit and cheering me up since I've been depressed since you left."

"Are they coming?" Emily asked hopeful.

"Unfortunately, they're not able to make it. Anyway, she said your dad answered the phone when she tried to call you. He said you were out shopping for your boyfriend," Emily blushed. "Lauren figured he meant me when she saw us kissing earlier. _Did_ you mean me?"

"Yeah," Emily confessed in a whisper. "I know we never discussed being official but in my mind we were,"

Jayden smiled and kissed her. "It's okay, I was hoping to be that one day and maybe one day I'll be something else."

"We don't need to rush things Jayden," When the bell timer went off Emily pulled the gingerbread house out of the oven. "Let's go enjoy this," They went to the living room and sat the house on the center table.

"Just in time guys," Lauren said as the opening credits began. She sat in the chair while Jayden and Emily sat on the couch. Every once in a while Lauren would glance at the two and smiled. She was glad to see Jayden so happy again and she thanked Santa for that.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**Happy Christmas to everyone**


End file.
